Catamenial tampon and wrapper therefor

ABSTRACT

A compressed catamenial tampon designed for digital insertion. The tampon is centered on a protective wrapper which is gathered and folded around the tampon to completely enclose it. The gathered wrapper is closed near the top of the tampon with an easily removable closure means. A central portion of the wrapper is releasably fastened to the base of the tampon.

United States Patent Bates et al.

[451 July 4, 1972 [22] Filed:

[21] Appl.N0.: 716,224

[541 CATAMENIAL TAMPON AND WRAPPER THEREFOR [72] Inventors: John D.Bates; Virginia A. Olson, both of Appleton, Wis.

[73] Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah,

Wis.

March 26, 1968 52 us. Cl ..l28/285 51 1 Int. Cl. ..A61f13/20 [58] Fieldof Search ..128/263, 270, 285

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,499,414 3/1950 Rabell128/285 2,587,515 2/1952 Parish ..l28/285 2,922,422 1/1960 Bletzinger...128/285 3,024,788 Lane ..128/285 3/1962 3,058,469 10/1962 Crockford..l28/285 3,135,262 6/1964 Kobler et a]. ..l28/285 3,358,686 12/1967Asaka ..128/270 v FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 93,641 3/1960Netherlands ..128/285 188,183 3/1964 Sweden ..128/285 PrimaryExaminer-Charles F. Rosenbaum Attorney-Paul J. Glaister, Keith T.Bleuer, Daniel J. Hanlon, Jr. and Raymond J. Miller [5 7] ABSTRACT Acompressed catamenial tampon designed for digital insertion. The tamponis centered on a protective wrapper which is gathered and folded aroundthe tampon to completely enclose it. The gathered wrapper is closed nearthe top of the tampon with an easily removable closure means. A centralportion of the wrapper is releasably fastened to the base of the tampon.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 CATAMENIAL TAMPON AND WRAPPER THEREFORBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Digital insertion tampons for catamenialuse, in which the tampon is enclosed in a dual-purpose protectivewrapper, are old in the art. A recent embodiment is shown in U. S. Pat.No. 3,135,262. However, one of the problems encountered in the use ofsuch tampons is that because the tampon body is so small it has beenfound difficult to handle during the unwrapping process. As a result thetampon often inadvertently slips from the user's grasp and is dropped,whereupon it must be discarded. Also, after the tampon is partiallyunwrapped preparatory to insertion, difficulties have been encounteredin trying to use the wrapper for its intended purpose of protecting thefingers against soilage. The instant invention is designed primarily toovercome these difficulties;

Accordingly it. is the principal object of this invention to provide adigital insertion tampon in which the protective wrapper and tampon bodyare releasably attached to each other.

Another object is to provide a digital insertion tampon in a convenienteasily opened package wherein the wrapper serves as a sanitary andhygienic finger protecting device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The digital insertion tampon device of thisinvention comprises a tampon of absorbent material compressed into aselfsustaining, generally cylindrical body with a withdrawal stringdepending from its lower end and having its upper end tapered androunded. The tampon is enclosed in a temporary protective wrapper offlexible, fluid-impervious sheet material of beyond the gathered ends.The closure means preferably is a heat scalable tape, or a tape of thecohesive type which sticks only to itself, whereby it will not damagethe wrapper upon removal. The wrapper sheet preferably is thermoplasticat least on its inner surface so that it may be attached to the tamponby heat bonding; although other attachment means may be used.

To prepare the tampon for insertion, the wrapped device is grasped atits base by the fingers of one hand and the closure means removed. Thecomers of the wrapper are then folded back to expose the forward end ofthe tampon. The withdrawal string is also pulled back along with thewrapper. The tampon is then inserted with one of the fingers whileholding onto the wrapper with the others. After the tampon is in place,a gentle tug on the wrapper will separate the wrapper from its weakattachment to the tampon base.

It will be seen that because the tampon is attached to the wrappersheet, the tampon will not inadvertently fall out or be dropped duringthe unwrapping procedure as long as one has a grip on the wrapper. Theattachment also permits more positive control of the tampon duringinsertion.

The above and other advantages, objects and features attendant theimproved device of this invention will become apparent by reference tothe following specification and accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing, in which like numbersrepresent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates the relative position of tampon and wrapper beforewrapping.

FIG. 2 shows the tampon partially wrapped.

FIG. 3 illustrates the completely wrapped tampon, and also illustrates ameans for attaching the wrapper to the base of the tampon by aheat-sealing step.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary showing of the tampon base illustrating thewrapper in its temporarily fastened relationship to the base.

FIG. 5 illustrates how the partially unwrapped tampon and wrapper may beheld preparatory to insertion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 a compressedcylindrical tampon 10 having a conical nose and a withdrawal string 11attached to its base, is shown disposed on the approximate geometriccenter of a flexible wrapper sheet 12, of rectangular, preferablysquare, dimension. In the preferred embodiment, wrapper 12 is apolyethylene tissue laminate in which the top surface 13, in contactwith the tampon, is polyethylene film and the bottom surface 14 istissue.

In FIG. 2, wrapper sheet 12 is shown as it is being gathered and foldedupwardly to partially enclose tampon 10. Withdrawal string 11 is foldedupward with the wrapper and extends out beyond the ends of the wrapper.

In FIG. 3, the tampon is shown completely enclosed by the wrapper sheet12, which is gathered together and closed by closure tape 15 immediatelyabove the forward end of the tampon. The tape is of a material whichdoes not stick to the wrapper, and preferably encircles the wrapper withthe tape ends stuck together to form a tab.

The assembled tampon and wrapper is pressed against a heated plate 16,or the like, for a time sufficient to soften the interior polyethylenesurface andbond it to the tampon base. While this step is shown astaking place after the tampon is entirely wrapped, it will easily beseen that attachment can also be done I when the tampon body is firstcentered on the wrapper, as in FIG. 1, or after the wrapper is partiallyfolded up around the tampon as in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates how the inner polyethylene surface 13 of wrapper 12is attached to the base of tampon 10 at 17. De- I pending upon thedisposition of the withdrawal string, which of course varies from tamponto tampon during the processing steps, the sheet may attach itself inpart directly to the string rather than wholly to the tampon base.However, the strength of the attachment bond may be controlled so thatthe bond is still effective whether attached partly to the stringportion or entirely to the base of the tampon body.

In FIG. 5, the partially unwrapped tampon 10 is held in the fingers onthe tissue side 14 of the wrapper and is ready for insertion.

After insertion of the tampon, the free ends of the wrapper are graspedand withdrawn, whereby it easily separates from the tampon base withoutdisturbing tampon placement. In order to insure easy separation, thestrength of the wrapperto-tampon bond is such that it requires no morethan a gram pull to separate. The attachment strength is easilyregulated by the dwell time of wrapped tampon on hot plate in thearrangement shown in FIG. 3, as well as by the temperature of the plateitself.

While the preferred wrapper comprises a polyethylene-tissue laminatewith the polyethylene disposed on the inside, it

' will readily be seen that the entire wrapper may be comprised ofpolyethylene film alone, or other thermoplastic films such aspolypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and the like. These also may be inlaminated form. The thinner products are, of course, preferred.

The wrapper may also contain thermoplastic fibers for attachmentpurposes, or be coated with a thermoplastic material on the innersurface.

The compressed tampon body preferably is about one-half to five-eighthinch in diameter at its base and from about 1% to 2% inches long. It ispreferably of cylindrical shape with top half tapering to a rounded tipfor ease of insertion.

Since the protective wrapper preferably is of a fluid andstain-resistant material the tip of the tampon may also be convenientlycoated with a suitable lubricant to aid insertion. A material such aswater-soluble surgical gel is useful for this purpose.

A suitable dimension for the wrapper sheet to be used with theabove-described tampon is a 6% inches square. A 1 mil polyethylene sheetalong, or a 0.5 to 0.75 mil polyethylene sheet laminated to a singleply, 9 lb. drier basis weight, creped cellulose wadding sheet makes asuitable wrapper. The polyethylene may be clear or opaque and may becolored or plain. It may also be embossed to give it an aestheticallymore appealing feel and appearance.

A closure tape of the type illustrated is approximately 2 inches long bythree-sixteenth inches wide. It is preferred that the tape be of a typewhich adheres only to itself and not the wrapper. Tape with a cohesive,rather than adhesive, bond coating will serve this purpose, as well astape which can be heat-sealed or otherwise bonded. Whichever is used, itshould be readily frangible, or peelable, so that it can be removedwithout damaging the wrapper. The tape may be convolutely wound with aloose tab end, or be a single loop with the ends pressed together toform a tab.

Other types of easily removed closures can also be used, including suchthings as flexible plastic clips, paper or plastic twist tapes with softmetal cores, or rubber bands with finger tabs.

It is understood that the invention is not limited specifically to thepreferred embodiments set forth above, and that suitable changes,modifications, and variations may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A catamenial tampon device designed for digital insertion andcomprising a compressed tampon body, a withdrawal string dependingtherefrom and a flexible wrapper therefor; said tampon body comprisingabsorbent material compressed into a self-sustaining substantiallycylindrical shape; said wrapper comprising a rectangular sheet offlexible, fluid-impervious material; the bottom of said tampon bodybeing releasably fastened to the approximate geometric center of saidsheet; the attachment strength of said sheet to said tampon is such thatno more than a gram pull is required to separate said sheet from saidtampon, said sheet being gathered and folded upward to surround andfully enclose said tampon body; said string being folded upward insidesaid sheet and extending beyond the gathered ends of said sheet; andremovable closure means encircling the gathered portion of said wrapperimmediately above the top end of said tampon.

2. The tampon device of claim 1 in which at least the inner surface ofsaid sheet is thermoplastic and is attached to said tampon by a heatbond.

3. The tampon device of claim 2 in which said sheet comprises thinpolyethylene film.

4. The tampon device of claim 3 in which said sheet comprises apolyethylene-tissue laminate with the polyethylene comprising the innersurface.

5. The tampon device of claim 1 in which the forward end of said tamponis treated with a lubricant.

6. The tampon device of claim 1 in which at least the front half of saidtampon is tapered to a narrower diameter than the rear portion.

7. The tampon device of claim 1 in which said closure means comprises anencircling tape having a loose tab end.

8. The tampon device of claim 7 in which the tape comprises a singleloop with the ends thereof bonded to each other by a cohesive materialcoated on the interior surface of said tape.

9. The tampon device of claim 7 in which the tape comprises a singleloop with the ends thereof bonded to each other by heat-sealable means.

10. The tampon device of claim 7 in which said tape is readilyfrangible.

1. A catamenial tampon device designed for digital insertion andcomprising a compressed tampon body, a withdrawal string dependingtherefrom and a flexible wrapper therefor; said tampon body comprisingabsorbent material compressed into a selfsustaining substantiallycylindrical shape; said wrapper comprising a rectangular sheet offlexible, fluid-impervious material; the bottom of said tampon bodybeing releasably fastened to the approximate geometric center of saidsheet; the attachment strength of said sheet to said tampon is such thatno more than a 100 gram pull is required to separate said sheet fromsaid tampon, said sheet being gathered and folded upward to surround andfully enclose said tampon body; said string being folded upward insidesaid sheet and extending beyond the gathered ends of said sheet; andremovable closure means encircling the gathered portion of said wrapperimmediately above the top end of said tampon.
 2. The tampon device ofclaim 1 in which at least the inner surface of said sheet isthermoplastic and is attached to said tampon by a heat bond.
 3. Thetampon device of claim 2 in which said sheet comprises thin polyethylenefilm.
 4. The tampon device of claim 3 in which said sheet comprises apolyethylene-tissue laminate with the polyethylene comprising the innersurface.
 5. The tampon device of claim 1 in which the forward end ofsaid tampon is treated with a lubricant.
 6. The tampon device of claim 1in which at leAst the front half of said tampon is tapered to a narrowerdiameter than the rear portion.
 7. The tampon device of claim 1 in whichsaid closure means comprises an encircling tape having a loose tab end.8. The tampon device of claim 7 in which the tape comprises a singleloop with the ends thereof bonded to each other by a cohesive materialcoated on the interior surface of said tape.
 9. The tampon device ofclaim 7 in which the tape comprises a single loop with the ends thereofbonded to each other by heat-sealable means.
 10. The tampon device ofclaim 7 in which said tape is readily frangible.